Marijuana has always been a controversial issue in society and even more so today as many states have legalized it or are in the works of legalizing it. There are strong opinions on both sides. On one side, many people are for legalization because they see the positives, less crime, emptier prisons, tax revenue, health benefits and more. While many people on the other side feel legalizing marijuana is the worst possible idea because they fear that marijuana is harmful and it is going to corrupt the youth. I believe that many Americans are ill-informed on what would actually happen if marijuana was legalized and they are just caught up on the stigma of marijuana. As children in school we were taught that marijuana is the “gateway drug” to …show more content…
If the government realized how much money they could be making every year they would have legalized marijuana a long time ago, “marijuana legalization would also generate tax revenue of approximately $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like all other goods, and $6.2 billion annually if marijuana were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco” (Miron, 2012). Americans can benefit from legalization even if they don’t smoke, with less drug dealers in prison the country’s tax dollars could go to supporting other projects since the prisons won’t cost so much to keep operating. With all the extra money, many things around the country could be improved. Schools would get a much-needed funding boost. More money could go into preserving our national parks, or the money could go into helping fix unnatural disasters such as Flint, Michigan. An extra 6.2 billion a year could greatly help those who are living in poverty. However, knowing the government they would most likely add all or almost all of that money into the defense budget. Currently the U.S. government spends 737 billion dollars a year on defense, it would take 30 billion a year to cure world hunger ("The Cost to End World Hunger", 2016). There is a lot of good that could come out of the money but the government can’t be trusted to put the money where it needs to go. What would be best is if all the individual
Each year the United States government documents drug related deaths in our country, breaking the deaths down into categories of cause. These categories include tobacco, alcohol, prescription medications, illegal drug, and of course marijuana related deaths. Every year the number of deaths coming from marijuana is equivalent to zero. So why is there even controversy over the issue of legalization? Obviously, there are still some people out there who believe the drug is a topic for concern in our nation. In recent years, there has been tremendous progress being made in the field of medicine. University hospitals around the country have been proving again and again that the drug poses no threat to human health and well being, even
Marijuana, how one plant spread through the world it has evolved to become a hot topic both socially and politically, towards the better and for the worst. Marijuana has its benefits, states around the country almost more than 23 plus The District of Columbia in total have now legalized medical marijuana. Such as to be use for muscle spasms to relax the muscle from cramping, helps to decrease anxiety to relieve pain and suppress nausea and many more benefits. Now is marijuana use dangerous to your health? Actually, you can have a dry mouth, increase of appetite, fast heart rate, and a few more but nothing major. Which is all temporary meaning that it’s all over the next day. There are
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal substance in United States and in many other countries; this is a statement that seems to be in each article that is written about the legalization of marijuana. This is a subject that has been up for debate for quite a few years now. There are many people who support the legalization of this drug and are strongly convinced that marijuana is not a drug in which one should be punished for, but rather a drug that should not be frowned upon and seen as a way to help our nation economically and medically. On the other end, there are also many people who support the criminalization of marijuana and believe it is a drug that should remain illegal
First and foremost, majority of society is uneducated and unaware of the many benefits legal marijuana can bring about. These benefits are for us as individuals, for our economy, and for our government as a whole. You can have thoughts and opinions, criticize ones who use marijuana, say that they are a drug attics or bad people, but you would clearly be uneducated having said that. The plant, cannabis, “marijuana”, has a class of
For decades America has associated marijuana with many things, and none of them ever any good. From the ‘60s with the hippie revolution, to today with criminals of all kinds, there have been numerous associations that are arguably unwarranted in this day and age. Why is it that we have such negative feelings about marijuana? In America today, the government considers it a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” The problem with this classification clearly lies in the second half of its classification. Marijuana certainly has medicinal purposes, and humans have been using it for centuries to primarily treat chronic pain and a lack of appetite. It is hard to construct a
How many times have you heard or read about legalizing marijuana in the last year? I have heard about it numerous times whether on TV, on the radio, on the Internet, or when reading a newspaper. Many people wants marijuana to be legalized and each has his or her own reason. Some of them want marijuana legalized to reduce drug related violence in southern states that border Mexico and in big cities such as Chicago. Others want marijuana legalized to offset the impact of the current rescission by generating additional revenues to states from collecting taxes on marijuana. Many people believe that marijuana is not a drug and that it’s simply a plant therefore it should be legal just like tobacco. Finally, there are people who
The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from
Illegal drug use is a huge part of American culture and one the most controversial of those drugs is marijuana; its technical name is Cannabis Sativa. But whether you call it cannabis, marijuana, pot, reefer, weed, bud, herb, Mary Jane, hemp, grass or wacky tabacci, it is still illegal in the United States. Actually, all over the world the deliberation rages about the harm or benefits that marijuana has to offer. Attempts to legalize it in the United States have been going on since the Marijuana Tax Act was introduced in 1937 and have thus far largely failed. The debate whether or not to legalize marijuana seems to circle around numerous points, including the recreational use verses being a gateway to
Putting a tax on marijuana as a product would not only be a huge help on the government but to the economy as well. Taxes collected from legalized drug sales could be used to fund many government programs. The money could be used in treatment programs to get users off drugs and education programs to prevent children and others from using drugs in the first place. As a replacement for building and funding prisons for inmates convicted of drug-related crimes, the money could be used to build schools and fund the educational needs of
The prohibition in the 1930's detrimentally distorted the view of marijuana ever since it was declared illegal. Marijuana has and still continues to be looked down upon due to the unexplainable psychological effects of the human mind. Futhermore, the American society has viewed marijuana in such a negative way that it holds people to the reputation as a loser or stoner. This skewed perception of a lazy and unmotivated marijuana users in America is the result of over seventy years of propaganda and misinformation spread by private interests who needed cannabis illegal for their own personal gains. However, as America rapidly industrialized, societies view of marijuana began to change. The truths and therapeutic benefits of marijuana slowly started to surface among the public. Marijuana should be legalized in the United States not only for medicinal use, but for taxation and stimulation of the economy, and a possible end to continuous drug war.
Americans have been trying to legalize marijuana for years. It seems that all of their opinions divide into three basic groups. Many think that it is not worth legalizing marijuana, many seem to think it should be legalized, and a group of people say it should only be legalized for medicinal purposes.
The Government should legalize the use of marijuana because of the economic benefits it would offer, The debate over whether the federal government should legalize marijuana has been escalating and states such as Colorado, and Oregon have legalized the use of medical and recreational use of marijuana due to the realization that marijuana could greatly benefit their economies, such as the creation of jobs, tax revenue, and young business leaders. The legalization of marijuana is highly beneficial to the United States government because it will save the government billions of dollars. According to Jeffrey Minron a Harvard economist “If marijuana were legalized, the government would save $7.7 billion dollars annually in law enforcement costs, and it could bring an additional $6.2 billion a year” (3).If the government were to legalize marijuana nationwide, there would be billions of dollars, which could be used to solve actual problems in the United States like education, poverty, Instead, the billions of dollars are being wasted to loosely enforce the ban.
Believe it or not if the government where to legalize drugs, the amount of money they would save is tremendous. In fact pot legalization could save the United States $13.7 billion per year- according to 300 economists on huffpost.com. The United States spends about 40 billion dollars on enforcing drug prohibition per year. Money spent on law enforcement. Violence that deals with drug trade, decreases economic development and keeps millions in poverty. Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker speculates that drug prohibition increases addiction because it makes users reluctant to seek out treatment- according to Quartz Media. As research shows a lot of people are all for the legalization due to the increase of money the government would be savings and receiving, money that could be going to states. As we all know prohibition was set into place during the 20th century because woman felt as if men were getting out of control, spending all of their money on
The legal aspects or laws associated with the use and possession of marijuana is very controversial but not legalizing this drug holds good position on moral grounds. Some people view punishments as inappropriate and legalizing marijuana would send the wrong message to the public. On the other hand, many people prefer to maintain the status of decreasing the harm in society in an attempt to create a drug free America. Before the 1900s, marijuana was
Marijuana should not be legalized because it will increase health issues, its use will rise rather than decline, and taxation will result in economic failure. In recent years, however, society has become very moderate, and this is why society’s views can be swayed by the benefits of legalization. Nowadays, legalizing marijuana is not that big of a deal as it was in the 60’s and 70’s when hippies and peace organizations were advocating for marijuana use. However, if marijuana is legalized it has been said that it might be the gateway drug to legalizing all illegal drugs.